Whole Wheat Couscous Salad Recipe with Persimmon, Grapes, Green Onion, Mint, and Pine Nuts

Ingredients

3/4 c whole wheat couscous (1/2 box of the brand I had, could use quinoa for a gluten-free version)
1 c chicken stock (or vegetarian stock)
2 tsp. olive oil + 1 T olive oil for dressing
2 Fuyu persimmons, peeled and diced into pieces about 1/2 inch square
1 cup purple seedless grapes, washed and sliced into round pieces
1/3 c sliced green onion, mostly green parts
1/3 c finely chopped mint (or use parsley or cilantro)
1  fresh squeezed lemon
1 tsp. lemon zest
pinch of ground cumin
salt to taste for seasoning couscous
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

Directions

Put chicken stock into a small pan with a tight fitting lid, add 2 tsp. olive oil, and bring to a boil. When it boils, stir in couscous, cover pan and let sit 5-10 minutes. When time is up, remove lid and fluff couscous with a fork and let it cool. (Follow package directions if you're substituting quinoa.)

While couscous cooks and cools, prep other ingredients. Slice persimmons in half from top to bottom, then peel and chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Wash and dry grapes if needed, then slice into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Thinly slice green onions, and wash and dry mint and finely chop.

Combine the diced persimmon, sliced grapes, sliced green onions, and chopped mint in a bowl that's big enough to hold the rest of the ingredients. Whisk together the 1T olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and pinch of ground cumin. Pour the dressing over the cooled couscous and stir to distribute, then taste the couscous and see if you want to season with salt.

Add couscous to the persimmon-grape mixture in bowl and gently combine. Put pine nuts into a dry pan, heat for 1-2 minutes, just until you are barely starting to see some color on a few of the pine nuts, add to salad and combine again. Serve at room temperature

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